Debbie Szostecki (born April 18, 1959) is a retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

better known as Debbie Combs.

Early life

Her mother,

Cora Combs Beulah "Cora Combs" Szostecki (March 17, 1927 – June 21, 2015),

, was also a professional wrestler. Debbie Combs made her wrestling debut at

Louisville Gardens Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory. It celebrated its 100th anniversary as former city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years ...

for

Angelo Poffo Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He was th ...

International Championship Wrestling International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky that operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, "The Genius" Lanny ...

(ICW) at the age of 16 in a seven-women battle royal where she was the first eliminated. Combs dated

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

for five years while they were both working for ICW.

Career

World Wrestling Federation and National Wrestling Alliance

Combs worked for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

from 1986–1987, where she challenged for the

WWF Women's Championship WWF may refer to: Non-profit organizations *World Wide Fund for Nature or World Wildlife Fund, a nature conservation group *World Water Forum, an international forum for water issues *Working Women's Forum, a training, trade and credit union in In ...

against

The Fabulous Moolah Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildr ...

and

Sherri Martel Sherry Schrull (née Russell; born February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri. Martel began her professional wrestling career in the ...

. She also worked in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) and is a former

NWA World Women's Champion The NWA World Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was first won by Mildred Burke in 1937 def ...

. She originally won the title by winning a battle royal in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

in spring 1986. At some point, she was no longer recognized as the champion and defeated Penny Mitchell to become the champion again in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

on April 10, 1987. The Kansas City promotion withdrew from NWA in 1987 and closed in 1988. The NWA vacated Combs' title and awarded

Misty Blue Simmes Diane Simmes (born February 8, 1956), better known by her ring name Misty Blue Simmes, is an American former professional wrestler. Career Beginning Simmes got into wrestling after learning to box and being part of an all-female boxing show. ...

the reinstated

NWA United States Women's Championship The NWA United States Women's Championship was a sporadically used women's professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance from 1968 until 1987. Title history Footnotes See also *List of National Wrestling Allianc ...

(a replacement of the prior NWA World Women's Championship held by Combs). Combs challenged Simmes to a title match at a Delta Tiger Lilies card in 1989, but Simmes was unable to accept due to an arm injury she had sustained.

American Wrestling Association

She also competed in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA) in the 1980s. Upon joining the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, Combs wrestled against

as a

babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

, but later turned

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

and became

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partners with Madusa Miceli. The duo feuded with

Heidi Lee Morgan Heidi Lee Morgan (born June 29, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling, Ladies Pro Wrestling Association, and National Wrestling Federatio ...

and Brandi Mae.

Return to WWF and World Championship Wrestling

After leaving the promotion, she later returned to the WWF in 1994 to challenge

Alundra Blayze Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

. She wrestled Blayze once on an episode of ''Wrestling Challenge'' and was scheduled to face her at

WrestleMania X WrestleMania X was the 10th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The central ...

, but was replaced by

Leilani Kai Patty Seymour (born January 23, 1960) is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school. In the 1980s, as part of the World Wrestling F ...

. Combs briefly competed in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW) in the mid-1990s during their brief attempt at a women's division. On the March 31, 1997 edition of ''

WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...

'', Combs lost to WCW Women's Champion

Akira Hokuto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known as . Career Born Hisako Uno, Hokuto became a professional wrestler in the wake of the enormous popularity of tag team the Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka), and was responsib ...

Women's Pro Wrestling

In the early 1990s, she was also president and booker of Women's Pro Wrestling (WPW), an all-women's promotion that produced direct-to-video matches. Her organization featured "Awesome" Ondi Austin, Babyface Nellie,

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...

Candi Devine Candace Maria Rummel (January 1, 1958 – February 9, 2022) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Candi Devine. She won singles championships in several promotions, most notably in the American Wrestling Associati ...

, Denise Storm, Jackie Moore, Lady Justice, Lisa Starr,

Malia Hosaka Malia Hosaka (born October 7, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. She is a former NWA World Women's Champion. Professional wrestling career Malia Hosaka was trained by Killer Kowalski at the wrestling training camp run by Misty Blue Simmes ...

, Olympia Hartauer,

Peggy Lee Leather Peggy Lee (born January 19, 1959), also known by her stage names Peggy Lee Leather, Lady X, and Thug, is an American professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career World Wrestling Federation Peggy Lee competed in the World Wrestling Federa ...

, Penelope Paradise, Penny Mitchell, Sandy Partelow, Susan Green, and

Velvet McIntyre Velvet McIntyre (born November 24, 1962) is an Irish-Canadian retired professional wrestler. After beginning her career in 1980, she wrestled in American independent promotions before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). She ...

After Wrestling

Since her retirement, Debbie Combs has worked as a booking processor with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office in Nashville, TN.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Federation **AWF Women's Championship (1 time) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Other honoree (

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

) *International Wrestling Association **IWA Women's Championship (3 times) * NWA Central States Wrestling **

NWA World Women's Championship The NWA World Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was first won by Mildred Burke in 1937 def ...

( 1 time) *Music City Wrestling **MCW Women's Championship (1 time) *North American All-Star Wrestling **NAASW Women's Championship (1 time) *Peach State Wrestling **

( 1 time) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

**Class of 2020 *

Southern States Wrestling Southern States Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Kingsport, Tennessee. Founded by wrestler Beau James in early 1991, SSW (along with NWA Bluegrass) succeeded Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the top promo ...

( 1 time) *

St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame The St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame. After several years of debating the idea of creating the Hall of Fame, former owner and promoter of the St. Louis Wrestling Club Larry Matysik opened it in 2007. He wa ...

**Class of 2019 *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Women's Championship (1 time) *

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...

USWA Women's Championship The USWA Women's Championship was a women's professional wrestling title in the American professional wrestling promotion, the United States Wrestling Association. Title history Combined reigns See also *United States Wrestling Associatio ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) * World Wrestling Alliance **WWA Women's Championship (1 time) *Other titles **AAWF Ladies' Championship (1 time) **SSWF Women's Championship (1 time) **WWWA Women's Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Debbie Combs at Cagematch.netDebbie Combs = Big Star! at FCI Women's Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Combs, Debbie 1959 births Living people American female professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Kentucky Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Sportswomen from Kentucky Stampede Wrestling alumni 21st-century American women 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA World Women's Champions